> You do realize, I hope, that my response was tongue in cheek?
of course
> I think I disagree about it being 'sub-phonemic'.
Not when defined.
A phoneme is a sound unit that can distinguish meaning.
The 'virtual dagesh' and the 'virtual tsere' cannot distinguish
meaning in this word or environment.
> True, I doubt anyone hearing the word with a slightly
> different initial vowel would have misunderstood the sense.
Exactly. Non-phonemic.
> But it must
> have *sounded* like a seghol to them, as opposed to some other vowel.
Of course.
> Now I
> think the phonemic system was not necessarily a Hebrew phonology -
This is best dropped because it brings in too many variables and
starts to blur phonetics and phonology.
--
Randall Buth, PhD
www.biblicallanguagecenter.com
Biblical Language Center
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